John macdotjga-ll



MPPJOVED PORTABLE GAS-APPARATUS AND GARBURETTER.

*- dlp .Stimme retemh tu in tigen tttrts tttut ma mittag peut uf the stmt.

TO .ALL .WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, JnN MACDOUGALI., of 79 Nassau street, in the city of New York, in the county and State of New' York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Portable Gas-Apparatus; and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable those skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawing forming part of thisspeciiication, i'n which drawing@- Figure l is a vertical longitudinal section of a gas-apparatus that contains my improvement.

Figure 2 is an elevation of one end, looking from thc left, portions of the end being broken away.

Figure 3 is an elevation, partly in section, of one end, looking from the right.

Similar letters indicate corresponding parts.

My improvement relates to the construction and arrangement of certain parte of portable machines or apparatus for manufacturing illuminating-gas, wherein common atmospheric air is mixedwith the vapors of hydrocarbon liquids.

im One feature of my invention is the form and thc mode of arranging the air-tube, that admits fresh air to the liquid, its mouth facing downwards, so that the liquideannot enter it. Another feature is the use of a vfloating valve, which is so arranged as to elose'the mouth of the tube when the liquid rises to the height of the tubci Another feature is the application to theaintube of a pipe, which conducts away-any condensed matter that may collect in the said tube. Another feature is the application of a cap or valve to the outer end ofthe tube, to provide against the escape of vapor. Another feature is the giving the air-tube such a shape, where't goes through the end of the rotating vessel, or its jacket, that it wholly or partially surrounds the shaft of said vessel, whereby the opening for the shaft and tube can be made of small extent. Another feature is'the enclosing that'end of the rotating vessel whererpower is applied within a jacket, and arranging intermediate gear within the jacket in such a manner as to prevent leakage of vapor or liquid to a great degree. Another feature is the application, on the bottom of those vessels of the apparatus, rotating 'or stationary, which contain the hydrocarbon liquid, of inclined surfaces or bottoms, which enable me to draw off heavy or rancid oil and refuse matters from time to time with facility, and without stopping the machine. Another feature is the arrangement and combination, in the same frame, of two independent machines, each connected with'the same driving-shaft: Another feature is an automatic feeder forsupplying'oil to the rotatingvesscl. Other features not above montioned will be hereafter specified. l

The letter avdesignates the driving-shaft of the machine. On one endit carries a large gear-wheel, which gives motion to both the rotating vessels or shells ff at the same time, if desired. The machine is supported upon standards, which are attached to the bottom of an outer vessel or jacket, L, that encloses the rotatingl vessels, and at the same time holds the hydrocarbon liquid in which the vessels revolve, a partition being pro-l vided throughout the whole length of the outer vessel h to form two distinct compartments, one for each vessel or shellf. Both of these compartments are made Ato open above into the bottom of the gasometer s, through holes U, one of which is seen in g. 3. The vessels or shellsf are made and fitted up in the same manner, and therefore only one will be described'in explanation of my invention. The vcsscl or shcllflis fixed to its shaft,le, one end of which has u. bearing in' the adjacent end of vesse L, and the other goes through the wall of said vessel, and enters ajacket, d. which als'o encloses a pinion on that end of the shaft, and also a drivinggear, which is placed over the pinion, and whose shaft goes through the upper part of jacketxd, and has on its outer end a pinion, c, that meshes with the teeth of large wheel b. The shaft of the outer pinion e n tion as always to be above the level at which the hydrocarbon liquid stands in the vessel L`, and'consequently no leakage can take place at the joints of the shafts above mentioned.. Either of the pinions c that communicate motion respectively from the large wheel 6 to the rotating vessels or shells f, is put out of gear with wheel b, at the pleasure of the operator, whenever it is desired to run only one vessel or shell, f. The vessel or shell f` has radial partitions, 2, four in number in this example, which divide it into four distinct compartments, each `of which has in its circumference an opening, g, that extends the whole length of the vessel. The openings g are placed near to the partitions on their Yleft-hand side, observing fig. 2, so that during the revolution of the vessel, which is towards the left, there will be an opportunity for the admission of air into the compartments-.while is in such aJ posit sir circumference is above or out of tho liquid, which is represented in dark color at about the height it stands when the machine is in operation. The left-hand end of the vessel or shellf is divided radially to coni'orm te the arrangemento the compartments, a radial opening being made -in each, as is represented in iigs. l and 3, through which Vthe liquid and the air at that end oi' the outer vessel are allowed to ilow into and out oi' thcvesscl f. To the left of vessel or shcllf I provide a circular apartment, z', whose walls are fixed on shaft e, so as to turn with it. The apartment e' has not a separato wall on its sido towards the vessel or shelf f, but the divided end, 1, 1, 1, '1, oi that vessel forms the right-hand side of the said apartment, and consequently there is uninv terrupted communication between them. Atmospheric air is admitted or conducted into the apartment z' by means of the bent air-pipe o, composed of two parallel pipes, united by a horizontal pipc,`the latter going through the left-hand end of the apartment z' in the opening made for the shaft e, and being made concave on the side towards that shaft, so as partly to surround it, as is shown in lgs. 1 and 2. lThe horizontal pipe, if preferred, is made in the form of an annulus, so as Wholly to surround the shaft. The outer part ci pipe o extends through the outer case or vessel h, and is fixed thereto, and its outer end is supplied with a valve or cover, 3, which can be arranged so as to be closed automatically by means ci a cord leading to any apartment in a heuse, the cover being kept open while the apparatus is in operation, so as to admit a supply of' air. This arrangement, in controlling the cover of the air-pipe, enables one to shut oii the air and close the apparatus when the machine is not in active operation witheutbeing compelled to go downto the place where the apparatus is situated. "That part oithe air-supply pipo which is situated within the apartment t' is marked p. It is arranged in the upper part of said apartment, and has a double elbow, for the purpose ci makiugits end, which is above the surface of the hydrocarbon liquid, face downwards towards the surface of the said liquid, the end being provided with a lioating valve, g, hinged to the pipe, and hanging down and iloating on the liquid, which raises it and closes the end of the pipe when said liquid exceeds its proper height sudiciently fer that purpose, and thereby prevents the liquid from ilowing into the pipe. The air-tube or pipe o is also provided with an escape-pipe, 11, which extends from its lowest point through the bottom of the caso or vessel i, for the purpose vessehj, from which the liquid descends through a supply-pipe', n, of a U-shapc, that leaves the vessel j near its bottom at the left-hand end, (see fig. 1,) and enters a small outer apartment, m, which extends about as low as the level of shaft e, and communicates with the interior of vessel or case h through a perforation in the adjacent wall of the latter, through which the hydrocarbon liquid enters said vessel h from the small outer 'apartment m, the inter-communication allowing the llquidto stand at the same height in each, and a long vertical window to receive a pane of glass being made in apartment m, so as to show the height of the liquid. The supply-tube n, after entering the apartment m, is first carried downwards towards its bottom, and is then turned up into the form of the letter U, its extremity, which is open, being about as high as the bottom of the supplyvesselg'. The passage or ilow of the hydrocarbon liquid from the vessel j into the vessel h is accomplished automatically, by means of the pressure of the air, as I will next proceed to explain. The letter Zdesignates an air-tube, which opens into the upper part of vessel j, above the surface of the liquid therein, and is taken thence downwards inte an outer apartment, z, which, like apartment m, is arranged on the exterior of vessel or case h, communicating therewith also byvmeansof perforations, and having also a window-opening suitable to receive a pane of glass or other transparent material." The bottom of tube l opens in apartment z, and is arranged at such a point as to be a little below the line or level `at which -it is desirable that the hydrocarbon liquid shall stand in the vessel or case h. Accordingly, whenever said liquid falls below that line, and exposes the lower end of tube l, the air in Vvessel or case h is free to enter said tube and go upwards into the tankjand supply the partial vacuum produced by the low of the oil through the supply-pipe n, and produce an equilibrium of pressure in both the tank j and vessel h, and consequently thcoil is free to run down through the supply-pipe n until the lower end of tube l is again covered, when theilow of oil will cease, and remain interrupted until the lower end of tube l is again uncovered. The said lower end of that tubevi's out oil` at an angle, as shown in the drawing,vto prevent the oil from being carried u p into the tube with the air. By means of this arrangement and construction the oil isV constantly and automatically supplied to the carburetting-vessel 7L without interrupting the rotation of vessel or shell f, and without other attention than to keep a proper supply in the tank j. For the purpose oi' being able to discover the level of the oil in the tank j, I form a gauge, 4, at one end thereof, like those shown at m and z at the end o'f case The air which is collected in case h is trapped by means of the openings g in the rotating vessel or shell-f, and by means of the openings along the edges of its end plates l, and being confined therein during the time the respective compartments are immersed, the confined air is consequently brought thoroughly into contact, and is inter-mixed with the liquid which is contained in the compartment, and the said' air becomes charged with the vapors of the liquid,'a.nd escaping again through the openings g, and the said end openings, is free to rise through the orice U and enter the conductingpipe tof the gasometer, the top of which pipe has a valve-opening, through which the gas or carburetted air passes into the weighted receiving-chamber 5, which is arranged in the ordinary manner to rise and f 'yall in the outer case s, according to the quantity of gas contained in it. The valve, opening in the top of pipe` t, is closed by a valve of the form, in this example, of an inverted cone, whose base forms the valve and closes the valve-opening by being drawn upwards against it, when the vessel 5 moves/ upwards high enough. The valve is attached to the top of the receiving-vessel 5 by a rigid arm,y, which acts on the valve to draw it upwards and force it downwards `by positive force. The gas is letotl' to a main or to the distributing-pipes through a pipe, V, which, for convenience sake, I place near to or alongside the receiving-pipe t, and which goes through the bottom of the gasometer, as shown in the drawing. The'taukj is supplied with oil through a pipe, K.

In order to be able to remove from the apparatus the heavier oils and rancid and refuse matters, without being compelled to stop its operations, I form in the vessel or case h, and also in the tank j, double bottoms 6,

' of discharging any condensed matter that may collect therein. The supply of liquid is contained in an upper the upper one being inclined towards one end so as to facilitate the descent and collection of such matters at the lower end, whence they are drawn ofi' through ordinary pipes and faucets.

It will be observed that the valve :l: is so formed and arranged in the pipe t' that its verteic or pointed end guides the valve straight in its ascent and descent, and its base or broad end is lthe part that comes against the valve-seat, the opening in which is closed or opened at once by the valve. The valve is not in danger-of sticking fast to the valves eat,.as where it hangs from a flexible cord, but is'pushed away from the valve-seat by positive force, through the agency of the rigid arm y.

WhatI claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, ils- 1. The air-tube o-p, arranged around the shaft e, at the place where it passes through the end of the rotating vessel, substantially as described.

2. Arranging the mouth of the branchp ofthe air-pipe o-p in such a manner that'it opens downwards over the surface of the oil, substantially as described. y l

3. The Heating hinged valve q, arranged substantially as described, under the mouth of the air-pipe o-p.

4. The escape-pipe fr, for the discharge or escape of condensed matters from the pipe afp, substantially as described.

5. The application of a valve or cover to the outer end of air-pipe o, to close it when the apparatus is not in operation, so as to prevent the escape of vapor, substantially as specified.

6. Enclosing the geared end of shaft e within a jacket, and setting the shaft of the gear that drives said shaft in the upper part of the jacket, so as to prevent the oil from leaking at the end of shaft e, substantially as shown.

7. The inclined double bottoms 6, in the oil-containing vessels A, j, or either of them, substantially as and for the purpose described.

Y 8. The U-shaped pipe 11 leading from the supply-tank j, and terminating in the outer apartment m, substantially as described. l Y

9. The air-conducting tube l, leading from the air-space of tank j, and terminating in the outer apartment 2, when its lower end is-cut oii at an angle, substantially as and for the purpose described.

l0. The arrangement of the inverted .conical valve w, in the pipe t, in such a manner that its base closes the valve-opening of said pipe, and its narrow end operates to guide the valve, and keep it straight in its move ments, substantially as shown. f

11. The connection of the top of the receiving-vessel t with the valve x, by means of a rigid army, whereby the valve is moved back and forth by positive force, substantially as set forth.

' JOHN MACDOUGALL.

Witn esses W. Haurr, Gusmv BERG. 

